My Daughter Goes to War

I have found that poetry helps me in my spiritual journey. I think it does so because it keeps me and my heart OPEN when I struggle to shut down and hide my feelings. Thus, today's poem is a struggle I am having to be open and trusting God during another difficult time in my life. While some of you may call it "political," I chose to call the poem "spiritual" in the style of a lament psalm...

God bless all of you as we journey through the Christmas season and into the Epiphany and the New Year!

my daughter

is this
the last time
i will see you
as you are?
as i have known
you?

after christmas
you returned
setting your sights
on your mission
to that strange land
we’ve
bombarded
blasted and
tried to
colonize

my friend
told me of
russia’s war
there
and how
each morning
his aunt and other
mothers of moscow
would wait at
the train
station
to wail
together
knowing
somewhere among
those many caskets
was one of
their
sons

when my
daughter left
her mother
tearfully said as
we drove away
“we will never see
her again”
she will be
changed
her friends will
be injured
perhaps her
others will die
her brigade will
return in a year
but with fewer
soldiers

i cannot even think
about the
horror of
your dying
even the thought
sucks air
from my lungs
seizes
my guts

mazar-e sharif
she said
a northern city
in a country where
tribal allegiances
mean more
than
what we call
democracy
a place
we cannot understand
let alone
force to our
will

another shameful
war
for what?
for whom?
certainly not her
nor the bodies
of her comrades

Washington –
i am putting you
on notice
hear me
you’d better not
kill
my daughter

are you
listening?
i will do
more
than
wail
at a
train station

i
will bring
you
to your knees.

Merry Christmas!

I wish you all a very merry and blessed Christmas!

It was the German mystic, Meister Eckhardt, who once said,

‘What good is it that Christ was born if he is not born now in your heart?’

May the Christ-child be born in your hearts this day!

I Believe, Help My Unbelief!

Sometimes it’s good to do a spiritual check-up.

One way I do it is from time to time I write down just exactly what it is I believe about my faith.

While organized religion would like to pound us into little “faith molds” most of us never quite fit. In fact, our belief varies from time to time, from experience to experience, and we are more like the father of the boy with an evil spirit in Mark 9 who told Jesus, “I do believe -- help me overcome my unbelief!”

So, here’s what I believe today… so far… maybe it will spur you into thinking about, and writing down, what you believe today?

I Believe

there is one God,
a God who is creator, lover,
and justice-seeker.
a God of whom we are
imprints.
a God who yearns for us
to be sought and known.
yet a God who will always
be a holy mystery.
a God who came to us
in the person of
Jesus.
to experience and live
among us.
God showed us
how to live.
but in we unjustly
killed him.
yet he rose from the
dead
as he promised
went back to a holy family
of Creator, Christ, and
Sanctifier
who’s Spirit is here
among us
won’t go away
waiting to be
birthed in us
to live God-lives
with integrity
now
and in
an existence
yet to come.

As we approach Christmas and Epiphany (the birth of the Light and the celebration of the giving of the Light to the world) let us be strong advocates for justice and peace in our selves, our families, and in the world!

Calling All Men!

"As steel sharpens steel, so one man sharpens another." (Prov 27:7)

Let's start sharpening!

The 2010 Wisconsin OYTL* Retreat!
*One Year To Live"

May 21-23, 2010

At the McKenzie Center (near Poynette and just off I-90/94).

The cost is going to be $175 for two nights lodging, materials, and 5 meals.

I have attended this retreat and am currently working on the organizing committee for this retreat. I heartily recommend it!

No More Country Clubs!

What exactly are country clubs? How do they compare to churches? Well, country clubs are filled with people just like me (same race, same socio-economic class, etc.); country club members pay dues, make business connections, and enjoy eating, swimming and playing golf. It’s not that I don’t like country clubs, I just don’t want my church to be one!

Rather than being a club, I want my church to be more like a gang. Gangs are exciting, even dangerous – their members are committed! Gangs have a difficult initiation process, a shared mission, and membership requires real commitment to one another. Gang members stick together through “thick and thin; they even die for one another. Sure, there are bad gangs, but there are good gangs, too – gangs that help and protect others.

Now I have to confess that I have been a gang member for most of my adult life. In my younger days, I belonged to two powerful gangs. Each of these gangs had a difficult initiation process which involved a long period of training, even hardship, but with a real sense of accomplishment in becoming a member. These gangs gave me a sense of duty, loyalty and honor. Was it the Crips or the Bloods in which I was a member? No, it was the Marines and the police!

Just about 20 years ago, I made a commitment to join what I thought was another exciting, dangerous, and world-changing gang – I decided to become a practicing Christian. And do you know what? It was too easy. It wasn’t like joining the other gangs in which I belonged. The church didn’t expect much of me. Joining a church was just like joining a country club. And the church I read about in the Bible was not the church I experienced as a returning Christian.

While Jesus showed us how to give up oneself and serve others in love, most of us seem to have forgotten about that. In the church, we talk a lot about being a disciple of Jesus when in fact most of us are “admirers” of Jesus.

Yet Christianity from the get-go has always been about action, not talk. I often wonder if we Christians worked on becoming committed, world-changing gang members, the world would be in a lot better shape than it is today. Being a disciple is trying to be more like the Master. We can admire Jesus, but it really doesn’t result in trying to become more like him. Disciples do. Disciples do what Jesus asked them to do in the 25th chapter of Matthew and showed us during his earthly ministry: feed the hungry, clothe and shelter the homeless, and visit the sick and those in prison.

We can find further examples of Christian discipleship in the 2nd chapter of Acts where Jesus’ followers taught, prayed, shared a common meal together, sold what they had and pooled their resources. The result? Soul by soul the world was being saved -- and day by day God added to their numbers.

Is our faith and commitment bold enough to join a gang like this? I wonder what would happen to our churches as we know them if we did? I wonder what would happen to us?

Wilderness Growth

Isn't it strange that four of the enduring religions of the world (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism) all have leaders who experienced life-changing events while retreating from the world? In the Christian tradition, Mark's Gospel tells of a wandering Jewish rabbi encountering a Jewish prophet at a river. The rabbi asks to be baptized as a sign of repentance and purification. The prophet agrees but knows who it is that is standing before him. He tries to reverse the situation: "You should be baptizing me, not me you!" But the rabbi is insistent and John baptizes Jesus in the River Jordan. As he is being baptized, God's Spirit annoints him and he is given God's blessing, "You are my son of whom I am well-pleased!" After this powerful event, the Spirit of God drives Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days of prayer, fasting, testing, and being ministered to by angels. When Jesus emerges from his wilderness experience, he begins his ministry with power and great might.

We get part of the message, but not all of it. It seems to me that Christians have missed the major point of this narrative; that is, personal transformation happens in places of wilderness! We need to leave behind (at least for awhile) the addictive culture in which we live. We need silence when all we hear everyday is "blah, blah, blah, blah!" -- distracting voices, tunes and other noises. We must leave those things we have created (like houses and cities) and take a long look at God’s natural creation. Our tradition and our “saints” tell us to go to the wilderness and listen, but we cannot. Our schedules are too crowded and there are too many demands on our time. Ultimately, we are simply too busy to grow emotionally or spiritually.

Many of you know I recently had a great wilderness experience. A few weeks ago, I participated in a "One Year to Live" men’s retreat. It lasted only 44 hours yet the experience was powerful, reflective, and peaceful -- yet it was moving and productive. There was silence, prayer, small group discussion, spiritual/sacramental activities and an invitation for everyone to create a life-mission. It was great!

Looking back in my life, it was exactly these kinds of “wilderness” experiences that helped me grow my faith. It was my time on a mission in Vancouver nearly twenty years ago, Cursillo, the Alpha Course "weekend away," and now this men's retreat. God must be patient. God shows us the way and we quickly forget to tell others how to get there!

Brothers and sisters, if you want to grow in faith, go to the wilderness. Jesus did it, and it really worked!

Is It Christmas Already?

No! It’s not Christmas, it’s Advent. But each year the Christmas music comes earlier and earlier – even on our local Christian radio station. And every year, I feel the pressure that I am being pushed into the season of Christmas just after Thanksgiving – and before I am ready. I resist. For Christians, this is NOT the time for Christmas – it is Advent, it is a time of personal spiritual preparation. I want to shout that out!

A week before Thanksgiving Sabine and I went to dinner at a local Italian restaurant that we greatly enjoy. They often play Italian operas for our enjoyment during dinner. But that night they were playing Rudolph, Frosty and dreams of White Christmas’s. I protested. I objected. I told them that it was not Christmas time, but Advent, a time for preparation, reflection, waiting and praying for that joyous day more than a month away. I explained that I was a Christian and not a card-carrying member of the "Freedom From Religion Party." They agreed to change the music back to La Boheme.

Now I am not the Grinch. I love Christmas, but the culture around us is trying to push me right by the four weeks of Advent and into a shopping mall. After all, waiting, reflecting and praying is not good for the economy. But it is good for the soul.

It’s not too late. We can resist. We can slow down. We began a new church year on November 29th with the First Sunday of Advent. Many of us sang the fresh words of the Advent hymns: “O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel… Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!” “Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free,” and “On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry, announces that the Lord is night…” and heard these words from the traditional prayers of Advent that highlight themes of grace, repentance, preparation, expectation, and the stirring power of God:

“Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light, now at the time of this mortal life in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility…” (1 Advent)

“Merciful God, who didst sent thy messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ…” (2 Advent)

And my favorite from the 3rd Sunday of Advent:

“Stir up thy power, O Lord, and with great might come among us…”

And from the last Sunday of Advent:

“We beseech thee, Almighty God, to purify our consciences by thy daily visitation, that when thy Son our Lord cometh he may find in us a mansion prepared for himself…”

I love Christmas, but I resist giving up the preparation, waiting and reflection that the season of Advent gives to me. Is it a hopeless cause to resist the jolly time before Christmas? I don't think so. But we can do it when we inwardly prepare and turn our hearts away from the cacophony of the global economy that just won’t slow down to the quiet Christchild who will come.

One preacher called this resistance an “Advent Conspiracy.” I think he’s right, it is a conspiracy to keep this important spiritual time in our lives.

And I am one of the co-conspirators... please join me.

Talking With Prisoners

[The following is a talk I gave to the 15 graduates of the 3-month Restorative Justice Program at Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage on Monday, November 30, 2009. The program director is a good friend of mine, the Rev. Jerry Hancock, a former asst. attorney general for Wisconsin.]

Restorative Justice Graduation
Columbia Correctional Institution
Portage, WI

Two weeks ago I spent a weekend with 60 other men. It was a retreat called “One Year to Live.”

If you had no end to your life, -- you were going to live forever, what would you want to do if money was no object? How about 10 years? Five years left? What would be on your list?

How about if you only had ONE year to live – what would you want to accomplish if money was no barrier? How about if you only had a month to live? What would you choose to do with the 30 days you have left?

During the course of this weekend, we discussed our families of origin, what went on in those families when we were growing up. We talked about our dreams -- as well as the things we were ashamed of.

But most of all, we developed a mission statement for the rest of our lives.

As you might imagine, during the course of those intimate discussions, in small groups of six men (in which we all pledged confidentiality), we not only had deep knowledge of one another (much deeper than many of us had ever experienced with another man) but we also developed a deep bond with each another during those 44 intense hours. I am sure we will all remain in contact with one another and will do so for many years to come.

We were strangers when we got into our small groups -- but brothers when we left 44 hours later.

Now I got to thinking about the times in my life when I bonded deeply with other men – growing up in high school sports was probably the first, then graduating from Marine Corps Boot Camp and those with whom I served. And another: the partners I had worked and shared danger with during my years as a police officer.

All these events in my life had not only a shared experience with other men, but also a challenge, a threat – fear and danger. Any of these times in my life could have resulted in me, or someone near to me, shedding blood.

But all these were socially-accepted ways for me to challenge myself, overcome my fears, achieve, serve and protect others and have a sense of purpose in my life. They contributed to the man you see standing before you today.

Things could have been a lot different for me… The time when the Marine helicopter in which I was riding lost power and crashed, high speed chases, gunshots that missed me.

Or when, at age 20, I waited outside the apartment of a man, knife in my belt, after I came home from overseas. A man whom I knew was sleeping with my first wife. Thankfully, he never showed up that night

How my life would have been different if I had shot that teenager who swung a club at my head in that dark alley so many years ago after a foot chase…

How everything could have turned out differently. But even then -- had I been crippled by that helicopter accident, gone to prison for killing that man, or shot that teenager, could I not have decided to get through that? To choose to emotionally live instead of dying? To find light in my darkness?

William Shakespeare knew the power of men who bond together for a good cause when he wrote the play, “Henry V.”

One part of the play is about the great English victory at Agincourt in France -- a battle which pitted King Henry’s army of 6,000 men against a French army of 36,000. Henry was outnumbered six to one.

Henry and his army went France in order to re-claim English land taken during the 100 Years War. He was met by the French army on October 25, 1415 on a field near Agincourt.

The two armies lined up across a freshly plowed field. During the week there had been heavy rainfall. Henry’s men had the effective longbow which could pierce armor and his archers were protected from knights on horseback by sharp poles angled into the ground. Most of the English soldiers expected to die that day – out numbered six to one and facing heavily armored French knights on horseback. But not Henry, he had a vision that he shared with his men that they would remember this day in the years to come.

Shakespeare’s Henry speaks to his men just before the start of the battle. The scene begins with his cousin, the Duke of Westmoreland, lamenting the situation, wishing they had more men. The day of the battle fell on the day which commemorates St. Crispian.

Westmoreland begins: “O that we now had here but one ten thousand of those men in England that do no work to-day!”

Then the King appears…

“What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour…

He goes on…

“This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.

“He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'

“Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day.

“Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.

“This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother…”

As heavily armored French knights approached the English lines, they were met with loud battle cry from the English and a hail of their arrows. Unexpectedly, their horses became mired in the muddy field. And the English, on foot, with the king leading them, attacked.

Ten thousand French soldiers, including many of their nation’s nobility, fell that day. The English suffered the loss of only a few hundred.

Maybe King Henry did say something to them about brotherhood, maybe it was the fact that his men could see him in the center of their battle line, leading the charge on foot. Whatever the reason, the English prevailed. They won the day!

The English had a difficult mission and they knew it: they pledged to follow their king and, if they were to going to die, they would die with HONOR.

I remember my days in the Marines, my nights as a police officer – that weekend earlier this month… Honor, duty, service.

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother…”

The willingness to shed blood for one another is an indication of BONDING, of being a brother with another man through thick and thin -- but for a noble cause.

Now back to that weekend retreat I attended earlier this month. Three QUESTIONS went into building that mission statement I spoke of earlier.

The answers to those questions are the things we would commit ourselves to -- to give our word of honor – to keep the promises we made to our wives and children. The answers to these questions we carried home and shared with them.

WHO AM I?
WHY DO I EXIST?
WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH THE REST OF MY LIFE?

I will share with you in a moment what I said.

But now, I would like to ask you to think deeply about these three questions:

-- WHO ARE YOU?

-- WHY DO YOU EXIST?

-- WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

Brothers, unless we know WHO we are we will forever be lost and will struggle through life. Many of us come from a sacred religious tradition in which we believe we are children of a father-God who deeply loves us… If we realize that, we will know who we are…

If we don’t know WHY we exist, we will always be a prisoner, we will be in chains for every bad idea that comes along. Without knowing why we exist will never be able to resist the temptations and addictions of this world… Instead, temptations and addictions will be our master and we their slave.

And if we don’t know WHAT we are going to do with the rest of our life; that is; a LIFE PLAN (a pledge to go forward no matter what has happened beforehand in our life) we will be adrift in life, pummeled by it’s waves, torn asunder by it’s winds, because we have no RUDDER – no DIRECTION.

Now I am going to ask you to sit here for a moment -- in silence -- and think about those three questions again:

--WHO ARE YOU?

--WHY DO YOU EXIST?

--WHAT ARE YOU NOW GOING TO DO WITH THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

Brothers, I said I would share with you my mission statement. I urge you to continue to think about writing down the things that went into your head as I did a few weeks ago. Write it down and share it with your friends. Make a commitment, a pledge to follow it on your HONOR, and paste it on wall for all to see.

I told you that I would share with you my mission statement. Here it is:

WHO AM I?
I am David – my name means “Beloved of God.”

WHY DO I EXIST?
I exist to serve others and lead with integrity.

WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH THE REST OF MY LIFE?
I am going to live my life consistent with my chosen faith -- as a loving and faithful husband, caring father, grandfather, brother and friend; to always be a man of my word -- to keep my promises.

I am going to witness to my faith.
I am going to share what I have with others.
I am going to continue to read, study, and learn the rest of my life.
And now, as I come towards the end of my life, I will prepare for, and show others,
how to die and live into the New Life I was promised at my baptism.

NOW it’s up to you. I challenge you to write down YOUR mission statement, share it with your friends, develop it, fine tune it, and then…

ON YOUR HONOR AS A MAN,
DO IT! LIVE IT!

Thank you, and congratulations to each and every one of you on your graduation from this program. I am honored to share this day with you.

Peeling Hairy Onions

I continue to be moved by the men’s retreat I went on last week with the Lutheran Men in Mission. It was a place for men to come together and talk about what most men don’t or won’t talk about – their interior life – their feelings. I think we men have some “big hairy objects” inside us that get us into deep trouble -- like grief, shame, fear and anger.

I like to think of these hairy objects as being multi-layed – sort of like hairy onions. You do some work on them, peel off a layer or two and think you are home free, then, “bam!” Here it comes and hits you right between the eyes – sometimes you see it coming and other times it’s a blind side “sucker punch.”

I did some hairy onion-peeling last week. It felt good. I discussed the weekend with a friend of mine after I had gotten home. He was a new friend, a fellow pastor, and I was talking to him about my journey. As many of you know, it was almost three years ago when my granddaughter, Allison, was killed in a single-car auto accident in St. Paul. Believe me, I did a lot of grieving during and after that. Now, almost three years later, as I was telling my friend about Allison’s death, choking tears came up. Not just the teary eyes, but deep grief tears. That hairy onion had more layers than I ever imagined it had. And I knew I had some more grieving to do, and some more processing.

The same thing can happen to us with regard to other hairy onions called shame, fear, and anger. We work on them, we peel off a layer or two, we move forward only to find it trips us up again. And so we go down inside again. We NAME it. We CLAIM it as ours (no one else’s). And, by peeling off another layer, we TAME it and get it under control again so we can move forward.

After all, that’s the spiritual/emotional journey and it is a lifetime of work. What we feel, we can name. What we name, we can claim. What we claim, can now be more tamed. This spiritual/emotional work is a process. Just doing it once is usually never enough. And avoidance never works for long. Instead, we must spiritually/emotionally monitor ourselves for those feelings which can trip us up (even “sucker punch” us). Untamed, they have the ability to knock us down and even out.

As a Christian, I know that God is with me in these deep interior journeys. I don’t do this alone but always covered with prayer.

Another hairy onion of mine is Sabine’s cancer. It never got to anger, but fear was always there and still is – the fear of losing her. When I tell the story of her diagnosis nearly two years ago, I often find myself in a state of choking fear. I know I need to peel off more layers from that hairy onion!

While we are saved by grace alone, forgiven of our sins (as we forgive those of others), there still is work for all of us to do in processing our spiritual/emotional landscapes.

Last weekend reminded me of the power of “naming-claiming-taming” and asking God for the healing that must happen if we are to permanently rid ourselves of those interior “onions.” Unfortunately, what doesn’t work is what most of us choose to do -- to stuff our feelings.

I hope and pray you will be able to get those scary feelings out and exposed to the light of God in Christ. It is work you and your family will be glad you did.

Talking to Men

The One Year to Live Retreat

November 13-15, 2009

Camp Edwards

East Troy, Wisconsin

We know that the first disciples of Jesus were mostly a rag-tag group of fishermen, but they were also good sailors – men who were used to storms, high seas, and the constant danger of their boats being swamped. The church has often been described in nautical terms – a great ship with full sails, steady hands on her rudder, and keeping the true course. I like that action image.

But today the church-boat is in danger of being swamped! This is happening because it is unbalanced. It is unbalance is because the men of the church are essentially AWOL – absent without leave.

Every Sunday, there are 13 million more women in church than men; and during midweek activities the unbalance is even worse: men are only 20 to 30 percent in attendance. The fact is that today most men don’t go to church.

But the men are not AWOL because they have ceased to believe for it is reported that more than 90 percent of them believe God and over 80 percent call themselves Christian. The problem is that men don’t think that attending church has anything to do with God.

Now I want you to understand that my comments here are not intended to put down women; for women are doing an outstanding job in carrying our faith traditions forward. Now we men need to do our share. This isn’t about women’s participation, but about men’s absence.

Take my friend, Joe, for example. Joe sees church simply as a place where women hang out. So when his wife asks him to come to church with her, Joe would just as soon be caught having his hair done at an upscale beauty salon, or wearing pink underwear, than being seen in a church. Church, to Joe, is what women do. Deep down Joe thinks church is boring, irrelevant, hypocritical, and out to grab his money.

Joe knows faith in God is important. So that’s why he makes sure his children go to Sunday school and, during the summer, sends them to church camp, and makes sure they attend confirmation. Joe supports his wife’s involvement in church. As he sees it, church is simply at odds with him being a man. “Real men” don’t go to church.

But God created us in two genders – male and female. God didn’t create just one – but rather two to complement one another – two to balance things out. When just one gender is dominant in the church, we don’t have a fully effective church! The church wasn’t balanced when women couldn’t fully participate, and, again, isn’t balanced today.

So what can be done about it? How can we men step up? Is it the job our wives to nag us to church and order to get us to sit (begrudgingly) for an hour alongside them on Sunday morning or for our wives to nag us to church? Of course not!

It’s our job to talk to men like Joe about his life and whether or not he would be interested in improving it. I am not talking about conversion or evangelism here because the Joes already believe in God and Jesus. The problem with them is not their belief, but their practice.

Many of the Joes we know may be having trouble balancing work and family, they’re drinking too much, have other addictions, are struggling with pornography, or have girlfriends on the side. Their spiritual lives are in shambles -- filled with self-doubt or shame about the inauthentic or dishonest life they are living. Who is going to help them live the life they deep-down really need and want? This is the job for a Godly man.

The men of the Bible were imperfect, often broken, men who sought after God. And when they did most of them risked everything because they knew in their hearts it was the right thing to do. They spoke their minds and stepped on the toes of hypocrites. They were community leaders who fought for justice. They were God’s “tough guys” who were dangerous, but good. Unfortunately, many of these kinds of men are staying home today.

Now this is not new. Historically, the church has tended to get out of balance from time to time. And when that would happen, God would raise up a Martin Luther, John Wesley, Charles Finney, or Billy Sunday to call the church back into balance. The great revivals of the past always transformed large numbers of men.

Thankfully, we have such a revival going on today. It’s called the “One Year to Live Retreat” (OYTL). I just came back from one -- a 44-hour encounter with other Christian men. A true adventure – it wasn’t boring or irrelevant – and it certainly wasn’t hypocritical, as we put ourselves on the line for what we believe. You should try it. I will put myself on the line for you and guarantee that you will come out of that weekend a better man and your wife will know it.

I totally, fully, and completely recommend this weekend if you are serious about renewing your life. At my little church we now have a core group of five other men who went through the retreat with me. Things will change in our community because of us.

The retreat-encounter (and I do call it that) is sponsored by Lutheran Men in Mission, a group from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. The retreat consists of a weekend in which men take time to look into their lives, make assessments, and then do something about it. One leader calls it, “Bible Study Meets Indiana Jones!” As a former Marine, I call it “Boot Camp with the Holy Spirit as drill instructor."

We all know men in their 20s, 30s and 40s who are yearning for a spiritual life. Men who are desperate to get their lives back on track. The OYTL Retreat is a new program and offers an opportunity to do that; to be adventurous and courageous while at the same time spiritual, genuine, loving, and vulnerable. The time you spend on this retreat will help you be a better husband, father, and friend to our wives, children, and other men. Men are lonely today. Most have only their wife as their best friend. That is good, but they also need other men in their life -- brothers, authentic men, who can support, encourage and bless them along life's journey.

The next retreat (and, by the way, I’m going!) is April 16-18 at Camp Kataki in Louisville, Nebraska. Let me know if you want to go with me. You can find out more about the OYTL Retreat this program on Facebook – query “Lutheran Men in Mission.”

Dream with me for a moment. What would it be like if your church was balanced? Not just men taking up space, but strong, earthy, godly men who were truly alive in Christ? Can you even imagine what that would be like? What it would feel like? Imagine what your church could accomplish. It could sail a mighty sea with a full sail having steady hands on the rudder which will always keep it on course. Sail on!

The Nones

Pollsters tell us that in a few years the Nones will be the largest religious denomination in the United States. They have already taken over Europe. Who are they? They are your next door neighbors, co-workers and even members of your family. They are the folks who say, “None” when asked about their religious affiliation. Now most religious folks will find this unsettling. Not me, because I have found the Caramelrolians.

A few miles west of Arena, the Caramelrolians meet on Sunday at around 10 o’clock in the morning. I am not sure but I think they are mostly Nones. We ended up there because friends of ours invited us to stop by on Sunday morning. The couple who host us have a spice shop at this location (they also bake great breads!) – but on Sunday it’s turned into a kind of church that serves coffee and caramel rolls. Those who come and eat are, therefore, Carmel-roll-ians!

This is a group of folks that live in the general area of the Wisconsin River valley from Spring Green all the way up to Mazomanie. They come together because they have found that they like each other and in liking (loving?) one another they find comfort, support and friendship. When one is sick, all offer help. When Sabine went through her stem cell transplant and was recovering at home, one of the women came by and taught her how to knit. I am sure some even prayed for her.

Last Sunday I was reminded of something I recently heard -- a theologian who has stopped talking about God; instead of telling, he now asks. He asks people talk about where they have experienced God in their lives. Very few of us have not experienced God in our lives – even most Nones. God is not in any way absent from the lives of Nones. Most of them tell me that they don’t go to a “regular” church because they don’t experience God in such a setting. Most of the Caramelrolians live in the beautiful unglaciated area which surrounds us, some have farmed this region for many years, and they have a deep love of the land and continually marvel at the wondrous creation which surrounds them – a God-filled creation.

On any given Sunday, there are three or four tables of Caramelrolians, some are mixed and some happen to be gender specific. I have sat with the mixes but I have to admit I find the women’s table more interesting: livelier conversations and more attentive to group process. The guys? Well, when the guys get together at the same table the conversation is rather tedious, you know, “guy talk” --- cautious conversation; no feelings, no sharing. So, I tend to sit with the ladies.

Sabine and I still go to the “regular” church, but then we head west to the Caramelrolians on most Sunday mornings. They are good people. They have their burdens to share and others who listen and give support. They die, they are grieved, and their friends often end up going to their funeral which, more often than not, is held at a church. There is something to be said about building community, engaging in generous listening, sharing our lives, and supporting one another. Because when that happens, God is present and experienced. Maybe most of the Caramelrolians will check “None” when queried about their religious affiliation, but I have a sneaking suspicion that if you asked any of them if they experienced God in their lives it would be in that little shop on Highway 14 on Sunday mornings.

What Happened to Footwashing?

I have been thinking a lot about what Jesus taught about leadership in Mark’s gospel. In it, Jesus says some strong words on how he wants his followers to use power,

You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, and when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great among you must become a servant (10:42-45, from Eugene Peterson’s translation, The Message).

How does this teaching inform our lives – our relationships and our work place behavior? Are we, who say we follow Jesus, “servants” of others? For those of us in leadership positions (and that’s most of us when we consider being a parent is being a leader), have we been able to avoid our power over others from going to our heads?

But there is another teaching in the bible that we overlook along with Jesus’ words about leadership. It also has to do with leadership. It comes from John’s gospel.

Then [Jesus] poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, "Master, you wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You don't understand now what I'm doing, but it will be clear enough to you later." Peter persisted, "You're not going to wash my feet—ever!" Jesus said, "If I don't wash you, you can't be part of what I'm doing." "Master!" said Peter. "Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!" (13:7-9)

What Jesus did here could be a very strong argument that a major part of the Eucharist would be the washing of feet. It is one thing to “pass the peace” among one another on Sunday, another thing to wash each other’s feet! If foot washing was also a sacramental act, wouldn’t it help keep us all from having power go to our heads? Jesus’ washing of feet occurred at the same time he blessed, broke and gave bread and wine to his disciples. He told them to do this in remembrance of him. Did we forget about the foot washing?

Ceremonial washing is also a big part of the Hebrew bible. It could be said that we come from a strong tradition of washing. In Genesis, guests were to have their feet washed (a tradition that continues among our Muslim brothers and sisters). In Exodus, God tells Moses to make a bronze washbasin and to wash his hands and feet whenever he approached the altar of God (30:17, 40:30). The Israelites were commanded to do this so they would not die when they approached God’s altar, “This is the rule forever.”

Did you ever think what an effect ceremonial washing would have upon us as we enter church each Sunday? It certainly would remind me about God’s holiness and God’s commandments! The best we can do today is that some priests wash their hands (ablutions) before consecrating the elements of bread and wine.

This brings me to thinking about church leaders. In the Book of Common Prayer, neither the gospel reading on servant leadership or on washing feet a suggested reading for the celebration of a new ministry, the ordination of a deacon or priest, or the consecration of a bishop. It should be.

As I recall part of church history in America. I am reminded that our Founders clearly stated, "No Lords, no Bishops!" This was to say they didn’t want to have an aristocracy within our government or our church. Sometimes, I fear we have gotten both.

Perhaps we should ask those who wish to be our ecclesiastical leaders not only to be faithful in prayer and study of the Holy Scriptures, but also that they acknowledge their role as our servant and, as part of their installation, do something that Jesus did – washed the feet of their followers. What better act could church leaders do today than kneel down and wash some feet? This way they would demonstrate that they are following Jesus; that they know the danger of power, and they are, in fact, our servants?

Wouldn’t it be a strong message if the next time a church leader visited your church you found him or her kneeling at the church door, basin of water and towel in hand – ready to wash feet?

Who really is queer?

We worry a lot about sex. A friend of mine from the U.K. reminds me this is because his ancestors sent us the Puritans! He may be right.

But when it specifically comes to sex and GLBT people, we get a little crazy about what they may be doing sexually. Seldom do I hear anyone question about what heterosexual couples may be doing. But if we want to worry about something, shouldn’t be concerned with the relationship that is going on between two people?

I recently heard a pastor talk about a young man who came to him confessing that he was strongly attracted to other men. The young man didn’t know what to do because he felt that God must have made a mistake in creating him. He felt so bad about this that he had considered killing himself. The pastor said he didn’t know what to do either, because what his church had taught him and what he thought Jesus would have done, were two different things. As a person of faith, what would you tell that young man? What if that young man were your son? Is God making mistakes by creating homosexuals?

Well, I for one don’t think so. I am over seventy years of age now and I am tired of seeing and hearing people of faith struggle over issues that I really don’t think matter much anymore. It’s a lot like evolution, it’s passé to me. And so is the issue of homosexuality.

But I would tell that young man, as I have others over the years struggling with their sexuality, that they are not mistakes. We are all children of God and loved by God. If we shall be judged one day it will be not be by our sexual preference but rather by how we have related to God and one another. Period. What we should be concerned about are sexual relations without love or commitment whether they go on between people of the same or opposite sex.

I know what the Bible says and many of the passages that deal with “abominations” (acts which are abhorrent, detestable) not only concern a man lying down with another man, but also a mixture of other acts humans may particularly not like -- eating certain prohibited foods like shellfish, charging interest on loans, wearing clothing of the opposite sex or clothes which mix linen and wool, or women who grab men’s testicles, and those who miss church. All of these acts are biblically prohibited as well. And lest we forget, the bible also permits fathers to kill their “stubborn or rebellious” sons, sell their daughters into slavery, and stone to death any woman while being raped fails to cry out. How are we to read these passages today?

There are also specific instructions as to who must be excluded from community worship: those with crushed testicles (eunuchs), those who have had a recent nocturnal emission, and those who are children born of an “illicit union” (bastards) and, incidentally, all their descendents down to the 10th generation. As well as bankers, stockbrokers, or anyone who charges interest on a loan (so much for capitalism!).

Jesus seemed to disregard many of the old religious rules of his day and criticized those who religiously kept the letter of the law but did not practice love to others. So, I am not convinced that the few sentences that appear in the bible about “abominations” can over-shadow what Jesus brought to the world -- his teaching that we love one another and be merciful and compassionate -- even to “outsiders” like aliens, criminals, and sick people. Jesus told us to love those whom society marginalizes.

I choose to look at the quality of person’s relationship – whether it is loving, committed, exclusive, non-abusive and with a life-long intention. And if those criteria apply to persons in relationship who are of the same sex, so what!

What people of faith should be doing is helping people strengthen their close, intimate relationships along those criteria. If we determine all same gender, intimate relationships are sinful, only because the couple is of the same sex, we are committing a grave error today.

Instead, as people of faith, let us model God’s relational love to the world by being very intentional about our own relationship – that it is loving, committed, exclusive, peaceful, and life-long.

I hope that young man eventually found a clergyperson who was able to share God’s love with him, help him clarify his sexuality, and tell him that the church will help him strengthen his ability to love be it with persons of the same or opposite sex.

If I follow my conscience, I have to believe that this difficult matter before the Church is best viewed in the context of the quality of one's relationship! To do otherwise, appears, well, rather queer.

Caging Jesus

In C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, there is a scene in which the children ask one of the animals about the lion, Aslan, who is the Christ-figure in these stories. They warily ask, “Is he dangerous?” To which Mrs. Beaver responds, “Yes, he is dangerous, but he is good!”

I am afraid we have caged Aslan. We know he is good, but we also know he is also dangerous -- he asks us to turn away from what we are doing and follow him. We know how dangerous that is – Jesus asks us to loose our selves, to be transformed into new creatures, and to understand that the world and its empires will come to hate us. How much easier it is to put Jesus in a cage! In the cage, we can visit him each Sunday, adore him, praise him, and get away before he puts a paw on us, before he, like Aslan, asks us to climb onto his back and enter an entirely new existence.

How tame our faith has become. The only excitement we seem to get is fighting with other Christians and disparaging people of other faiths. The result of this is that we are seen as being narrow, mean-spirited, judgmental exclusivists who are more comfortable with the sword than the cross. If I am not mistaken, that is not the Jesus we meet in our Holy Scriptures.

The image of caging Jesus has remained with me. It’s a troubling image. A magnificent lion is caged up. He yearns to be free and run with us (even up through a waterfall that flashes multi-colored, radiant lights in which we emerge into a new land as Lewis’ depicts in the last book of his Narnia series).

But to keep Jesus in a cage is also very dangerous in another way -- it is dangerous to our souls. But who of us will let him out? We are so comfortable admiring him from a distance.

Tune Up Your Relationship!

As many of you know, Sabine and I have taught “The Marriage Course” for the past nine years (see http://relationshipcentral.org). It is an eight-week evening course for couples to help build strong primary relationships that will last a lifetime and we strongly recommend it. During the course, we use a workbook that covers these important relationship areas:

-- Recognizing each other's needs,
-- Learning to communicate effectively,
-- Resolving conflict,
-- Healing past hurt,
-- Knowing how to make each other feel loved,
-- Relating to parents and in-laws,
-- Good sex,
-- Making time for each other, and
-- Having fun together.

At the end of the course, there is a monthly relationship check-up. Having “right relationships” doesn’t just apply to our relationship with God. It also has to do with our relationships with one another. Sometimes to maintain a right relationship with God is a lot easier than with one another – particularly our partner!

The Monthly Checkup

1. Are you booking dedicated “relationship time” with your partner each week?

2. Have you met his or her “top three desires” this month?

3. Have you talked about your feelings with your partner more than twice this month?

4. When you listened to your partner’s feelings this month were you able to do it without interrupting, criticizing, or giving advice?

5. How many times this month have you expressed appreciation for your partner?

6. During times of conflict, are you able to discuss the ISSUE rather than attacking your partner?

7. How many times this month have you taken time to generously listen to your partner’s point of view?

8. Have you spent time this month to express support for your partner?

9. How many times have you talked about your hurts with your partner?

10. When was the last time you apologized to your partner?

11. How many times this month have you made love to your partner in a way that communicated your love and commitment to him or her?

12. How many times have you been able to show love to your partner in your partner’s primary or secondary “love language?” (See www.fivelovelanguages.com).

Some Longer Term Issues to Work On

13. Have you been able to truly forgive your partner for hurting you? The criterion being that the offense no conditions our relationship with them. (See http://www.forgiveness-institute.org).

14. Have you been able to maintain independence from your parents and your partner’s parents?

15. Have you been able to forgive your parents for the ways they have hurt or failed you?

I encourage you to take a look at “The Marriage Course” website and think about reading Gary Chapman’s book, The Five Love Languages (see above).

Working on improving and strengthening our marriages and partnerships is the most important thing we can do this side of heaven. We know that... but... You’ve witnessed break-ups among your friends, and, perhaps it has even happened to you. Remember? By the time a couple takes action to save their relationship, it’s often too late!

We shouldn't be surprised. Most of us spend more time and concern about maintaining our automobiles than our marriage. When our car breaks down, it’s inconvenient. When our marriage breaks down it’s a ong-term disaster! It's a tsunami -- it's a Katrina! But often it is a disaster we saw coming and chose not to do anything.

The above checklist should help you to prevent that disaster – to begin to do something -- and a good action plan first begins with spending quality time together (without kids!). If you are not doing that, you may already be in trouble! Look at the Checkup List again. Talk about it with your partner -- today!

Torture? Not in my name!

It seems that many people of faith become silent when it comes to the issue of torture. There is even a nation poll which reveals that Evangelical Christians are more in favor of using torture than non-believers. Strange in that Christians follow Jesus who was unjustly tortured and killed by the state. Therefore, wouldn’t Christians have a certain abhorrence (or at least a distaste) regarding the use of torture? But perhaps being a supporter of torture may be more about a person’s politics than their faith.

Nevertheless, I want to say one thing to the folks in Congress, the Pentagon and the CIA – I don’t want you to use torture to carry out our nation’s objectives. No torture. Did you hear that? Never!

I was a cop for over thirty years and I always distinguished smart cops from dumb cops when I was a young rookie by whether or not they would use torture to obtain a confession from a suspect. I liked to think of myself and those whom I worked as smart cops who could get both information and confessions from suspects by treating them with decency and respect and using our brain rather than our brawn. Torture seemed like such a distasteful thing to do to another human being. I found that some police officers, who were little short on intelligence, would often resort to torture – use it as a way to “get the job done.” I always questioned their results along with that of their basic intelligence.

Prof. Darius Rejali, one of the world’s leading experts on torture, has recently authored a comprehensive work called Torture and Democracy. In it, he acquaints the reader with the history of torture from the late 19th century to the present time. Rejali argues that democracies not only tortured, but set the international pace for torture – moving from torture which left “marks” on the subject to a style of torture which left no marks (electric shock, waterboarding, sensory deprivation, etc.).

While dictatorships may have tortured more people and did it more indiscriminately, the United States, Britain, and France pioneered and exported torture which left no external scars or broken bones. Rejali also examined the controversial question of whether or not torture works. Citing the lack of documentation on whether torture is effective, Rejali concludes it is not. Torture does not achieve what some believe it does. It is grossly inefficient in gathering verifiable intelligence or true confessions of wrongdoing.

Lest we forget, on the domestic front, torture is illegal and if the police use it what they obtained could not be used in a court of law. And police who used torture on suspects could find themselves in court facing charges of criminal assault. Does that mean that while it’s illegal to torture our citizens it’s okay to torture citizens of other countries?

But what we must never forget is that torture not only has a devastating, long-term effect on those who are tortured, it also destroys the lives of those who do the torturing. In addition, the use of torture by a democratic society tears away at values on which it was founded – due process of law and the dignity of the human person.

Recently, legal scholar Alan Dershowitz proposed that if we in America are serious about using torture, then we should develop a legal process to do it, remove it from secrecy, and never allow low-level people to administer it. Dershowitz proposes the use of “torture warrants” (similar to court warrants for an arrest or a search or seizure of private property). Yet he also believes that torture should only be used as a last resort – like in the case of a “ticking time bomb.” And each and every time torture is used by the state it needs to be authorized by a court of law and documented.

While I remain an absolutist with regard to torture, Dershowitz has an interesting solution. If we chose to do torture, we should do it openly and with accountability. Then, Dershowitz argues, we perhaps would not appear to be such hypocrites in the eyes of the rest of the world.

While his argument is intriguing, I am still not convinced that under any circumstances our nation should torture. My first reason is that it a terrible assault on a human person and, as a Christian, I cannot condone such treatment to a human being under any circumstance. Secondly, in all the years torture has been used there is no evidence that it works. And, finally, torture has a devastating life-long impact (and this can be documented) on both the tortured and the torturer

I guess the question here is that if we cannot speak out against torture, what does that say about us? What does it say about that which we say we believe about the human person? What does it say about our nation’s word when we are signatories to the Geneva Convention?

If we remain silent and cannot speak out against torture it may mean that the ways of the world have greater influence upon us than what we say we believe about God, Humankind, and the World to Come.

Healthcare -- The Right Thing to Do

Let’s see now, as I recall some basic Christian theology, we are in the “in-between” time – the time between the Resurrection of Jesus and the Second Coming. And if I am not mistaken, we who have chosen to follow Jesus are to work during this “in-between” time to bring about the Reign (or Kingdom) of God.

Throughout the centuries, that is why Christians have worked to help those who are poor, unfortunate, and despised by the world – all those acts of love and kindness that Jesus talked about. The first social services were often provided by Jesus’ followers – hospitals, places to care for the mentally ill, the homeless and abandoned children. Most every Christian knows the story in the 25th chapter of Matthew in which the King relates that the caring acts done for the least of the people in his kingdom are also done for him.

I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

The meaning being that whatever we do for the needy, we also do for Jesus. Now we know that, but do we do it? And the thing we seem to have trouble doing is caring for the sick.

Let me say this, and say it strongly -- there is no reason on earth that we in America should not be able to provide basic health care for everyone. I don’t care how we do, but it must be done. And this needs to be on the top of every person’s agenda.

Congress -- just get it done. No more excuses. No more rationalization. No more mean-spirited reasons. Just do it.

When our founders declared independence from England they strongly believed that were certain human rights that were “inalienable” for human persons. They wrote in the Declaration of Independence that among those rights was the right to life, the right to liberty and the right to pursue “happiness.”

I don’t know about you, but knowing that I can afford good health gives me great happiness. Without the prospect of obtaining care when we are sick, how happy can we be? We talk about the right to life and we talk about the right of liberty, but I tell you that the right to pursue happiness is just as important. We are a rich nation. We can afford it. When an American gets sick he or she should be able to obtain adequate medical care at a cost that will not result in financial disaster for that person.

As children of God, we are to care for our brothers and sisters. And that means every American should have a decent job which can provide food, clothing, shelter and healthcare. Whether you think of yourself as a “child of God” or not, this simply is the right thing to do.

And if you are a priest or pastor, I hope that you have preached this message at least once this year. And it might be time to preach it again.

Christian Exclusivity

I know the doctrine and it seems pretty exclusive in a world in which exclusivity often leads to violence. If we think everyone else is going to hell, what kind of people will we become? Is Jesus really the only way? If it is, then what is the “way?” Is it the way Christianity or is it the way Jesus lived his life?

As a clergyperson, I am puzzled by the way my faith approaches other faiths. We work awfully hard for conversion and someone to come to believe in only Jesus. Is God that narrow? Would God really turn my friends away at heaven’s gate because their names are Moses, Mohammad, Krishna, or Joji? I have trouble with this. I have trouble because I have come to understand God as a benevolent creator who calls to love one another; in short, that God is a god of peace. Exclusivity leads to separation, forced conversions, and violence. After all, most of us Christians can’t call each other brother and sister because of our theological differences – and we call ourselves disciples of Jesus?

So what about this statement Jesus made (and is cited by almost all Christian exclusivists), “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me? (John 14:6)

Is Jesus really saying that unless you are a baptized Christian you don’t get to God? Or is he saying something else? St. Paul tells us that Jesus is one “in whom the fullness of God resides (Colossians 2:9). Surely, this means we should “practice” Jesus; that he is, therefore, someone to follow and emulate. But when I look around at my friends who practice faiths other than mine, I can also see Jesus in them as well, whether or not they specifically know or follow Jesus. I see Christ living in many other people (Galatians 2:20).

When I was a trustee for the International Peace Council I accompanied a number of other religious people from a number of other faiths on a peace march in Cambodia. It was in 1996 and it was done to raise awareness in the world about the manufacture, proliferation, and crippling effect of land mines. In the city of Phnom Penh, I was struck by the number of amputees on the streets and in the marketplaces – all victims of landmines during the Khmer Rouge era.

As we left Phnom Penh and walked the dusty roads of rural Cambodia, we were led by the late Maha Ghosananda, leader of Cambodian Buddhists. Each day at noon, we would stop for a meal and rest. Each day, Ghosananda would sit under a tree in the village, with all the villagers around him, and teach.

During the Khmer Rouge persecution and killings, Ghosananda lost all his family members, and thousands of his fellow monks. Yet he continued to preach peace and reconciliation, not hate, until the day he died on March 12, 2007 at 83 years of age.

For a number days, I watched this routine in every peasant village in which we stopped. Suddenly, it came to me, this is just like Jesus? As I watched Ghosananda, he was truly Christ-like, although he was a Buddhist. Is there a difference? Is he not with God? Did he not follow the way of Jesus?

Ghosananda once said, “If we cannot be happy in spite of our difficulties, what good is our spiritual practice?” He believed “loving kindness” would overcome the world and he eschewed all forms of violence. So did Jesus. When I do my Christian practice, I need to keep this in mind. This humble man was always a simple monk, despite being a leader of millions. He always had a smile on his face… and he may have been the closest person to Jesus that I have ever or will ever see.

Accusing Stones

Let me state right out that I supported our intervention in Afghanistan (that’s where the terrorists were, right?) but was opposed our military to going into Iraq. Saddam wasn’t a very nice guy, but many other nations are led by bad guys, too. If we are going to rid the world of bad guys, we have a very troubling future ahead of us.

But now, as we note our 8th year of war in Afghanistan, I say, “enough is enough!” It’s too much like Vietnam for me and I don’t know what “winning” in Afghanistan means.

Besides, the war now has gotten very personal. My daughter, a captain in the U.S. Army, is now preparing for deployment in either Iraq or Afghanistan. I have a friend who lost a son to this war. I have seen his pain. I don’t want to have to experience it.

I also worry about how we have trained government officials, particularly the police, in those countries. When I saw this video on YouTube all my fears were confirmed. It is a five minute video of a U.S. military leader talking to Iraqi police officers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOIwl5G9lRo.

If you were one of those Iraqi police officers what would you think? What are the cultural imperatives here? I feel that some stones are about to cry out as this soldier with all his support, armor, vehicles and close air support berates the Iraqis for not being more aggressive in their own country. Will do they really expect we will stay forever in their country? One day we will have to leave, what then? But most important, are these the kind of democratic values we want to export to the world?


The Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk, spoke out about these kinds of things: injustice, plunder, ruin, and oppression:

You've engineered the ruin of your own house.
In ruining others you've ruined yourself.
You've undermined your foundations,
rotted out your own soul.
The bricks of your house will speak up and accuse you.
The woodwork will step forward with evidence. (Habakkuk 2:10-11, From The Message).


Are these not ancient truths? Can we not look at the history of the world (and accounts in our Bible) to remind us that plundering other nations never works out? If we say we follow the “Prince of Peace,” then let us do it – lest the bricks accuse us.

Jesus cited Habakkuk on the day we Christians call Palm Sunday. When the people acclaimed Jesus as reigning over the coming kingdom of God, the religious authorities asked Jesus to rebuke them, but Jesus did not. Instead, quoting Habakkuk, he replied, “If they keep quit, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:37-40, New International Version).

This is how I feel about our intervention into Iraq and Afghanistan. If you and I keep quiet, the bricks in our own walls will accuse us. You and I need to speak out in order to get our country out of there because there is no good ending to forceful oppression.

I know the objections about loss of face and dishonor. But enough is enough. We will never stabilize that country (or any other) by force. If we are serious about helping Iraq and Afghanistan let us do it by sharing both our wealth, our know-how, and by practicing our values. We must stop being Empire; stop trying to control the world by intimidation and force.

When we, as a nation, act like we really care about others around the world rather than controlling them, there is a good chance the rest of the world will come both to respect and emulate.

Lord, Save Us From Your Followers

Here's an interesting clip about a new movie out which puts that question Mahatma Ghandi answered about Christians. When asked what he (a Hindu saint) thought about Christianity, he said that he loved and respected the teaching of Jesus, but he was puzzled that he never seemed to be able to experience that love and teaching in those who called themselves Christians.

Of course the same can be said about most religious/spiritual paths -- we all fall short! Nevertheless, the question we must always challenge ourselves with is this one: Are we merely admirers of Jesus or do we try to actually PRACTICE what he taught? Are we disciples of Jesus or "users" of Christiantity (as John Ortberg puts it so well)?

Take a look at this video clip and tell me what you think.

http://lordsaveusthemovie.com/

First Musing -- Work and Spirituality

So, how does God’s Spirit work in our lives? What are those nudges, happen-chances, and sudden revelations if they are not from above? Well, at least, I think I have learned over the years that an open, compassionate heart is the first step to living more spiritually – more God-like.

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in a waiting room waiting for a doctor’s appointment at the Veteran’s Administration where I receive my medical care. Yes, I am fully at the mercy of a complete, government-run, socialized system of medical care. It’s been good for me and they’ve kept this old body functioning over the years.

Now back to the point. I picked up a magazine there and found it was an old issue of The Nation from last spring. But I decided to page through it. In it, I found an article by one of their editors, William Greider, entitled “The Future of the American Dream.” I started reading it and eureka! there it was a current essay which summed all that I both believed in and tried to accomplish when I was chief of the Madison P.D. During my last ten years, I was deeply involved in the Total Quality Management movement of the 1980s and 90s. Aha, I said to myself, maybe everything we learned during that era has not been lost and forgotten.

Work is important stuff. It give us not only income, but also a sense of accomplishment. Work is not only necessary for our bodies but also our souls and, yes, even our spiritual development. We live in a nation that declared over a century ago that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” was our goal as a new nation. And work is certainly tied to life, liberty and happiness. Grieder listed two important things that America needs to do as we enter the 21st century and are recovering from the stunning realization that our economic system has collapsed due to a lot of dishonesty and greed.

Greider tells us that two things need to happen. First that

“every American who is willing and able ought to have the right to a job that pays a livable wage. If the private sector will not provide these jobs, then the public sector should be the employer of last resort.”

Work is important. It is so important that it must be a right and that right to a job must include a living wage (and health insurance!). If the private sector can’t make this happen, then the government should step in. Work is that important. Work is a right in America.

Secondly, Grieder said

‘that everyone who works, whether in the front office or on the assembly line, deserves to ‘own their work’--that is, the right to exercise personal responsibility for what they do and enjoy mutual respect and the capacity to contribute and collaborate in important decision-making within the firm. These elements of individual voice and status are critical to satisfaction in one's work, but democratic qualities are largely missing from American workplaces.”

Now here’s where the “rubber hits the road” and the screeching starts. Everyone not only deserves a job with a living wage, but also a job which fulfills the basic tenets of this society – that we all have voice, a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and we all can contribute to workplace decisions.

Far too long, American workers have been literally slaves to work that is pure drudgery, often abusive and, in some places, workers fear for their safety. Too often, workers are not treated with dignity nor respected. And their opinions on how to do a better job go unheard or trivialized. Democracy in America should not end at the doors of the factory or any American organization. Just because we can vote every two or four years doesn’t mean we truly live in a democracy if democratic practices don’t go on in our workplaces.

What I am talking about here is a system that can be crippling to a person’s spirit. We are all children of God, therefore, all people are worthy of being treated with dignity and respect. They deserve to have a voice and to be heard.

Now in our lagging economy, not many of us have any power to create jobs. But , for those of us who work (and especially those of us who supervise others) there are a lot of things we can do to humanize our workplaces. We can, ourselves, start practicing "mutual respect" for one another, gently press for more voices to be heard in making work decisions, and generously listen to those with whom we work. Everyone has a God-given right to be treated with dignity and respect and that includes people in the workplace!

This can be scary stuff when you stand up for this. Jobs come few and far between and fear permeates almost every workplace. But as Jesus said, what good is it if we gain the world and loose our souls?

[You can read the full text of Grieder’s article at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090525/greider. It appeared in the May 25, 2009 issue of The Nation.]